help refugees

What help refugees does

Choose Love is a UK- and US-registered charitable non-profit (UK CIO charity no. 1177927; US 501(c)(3)) that supports refugees and displaced people through emergency aid, advocacy, and fundraising. Founded in 2015 (originally as Help Refugees, later rebranded to Choose Love), the organization works through local partner networks across 51 countries and reports having supported over 9 million displaced people and raised $160 million since inception. Its operations are organized around four currently active emergency appeals — an Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a Sudan famine appeal, a Lebanon crisis appeal, and a Gaza/Palestine relief appeal — each with a dedicated campaign page on donate.chooselove.org.

The organization's commercial footprint is a dual-storefront e-commerce model sitting alongside donations. The choose.love store sells tangible aid products at fixed unit prices — Nutritious Meals at £15 (reportedly providing food for a family for four days) and a Children's Bundle at £140 (covering protection, clean water, food, shade and nets) — with over 16 million meals reportedly provided in 10 years. A separate Shopify-based merchandise store (chooselovemerchandise.myshopify.com) sells branded clothing and accessories. Beyond fundraising and commerce, Choose Love runs the Rise Festival, a global two-day digital festival led by displaced young people, and the underlying GLORY (Global Leadership & Organising by Refugee Youth) programme. Marketing and donor engagement run across chooselove.org, email newsletters, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Choose Love's revenue model is donations plus charitable contributions, augmented by merchandise and aid-product sales. The go-to-market motion is direct-to-consumer across multiple channels: online fundraising campaigns, a major gifts program, community fundraising tools, the choose.love store, the Shopify merchandise store, and event-driven acquisition via the Rise Festival. No disclosed headcount, annual revenue, AI/ML capabilities, proprietary technology stack, or named institutional donors are present in the input data, and the organization operates without a parent company.

Name

help refugees

Legal name

Choose Love CIO (UK) / Choose Love, Inc. (USA)

Website

https://helprefugees.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Choose Love (formerly Help Refugees) is a UK/US-registered non-profit founded in 2015 that delivers emergency aid and humanitarian support to refugees and displaced people via local partners across 51 countries, funded primarily through individual donations and aid-product sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid and Refugee Support Services

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee, Migration & Displacement Support (BPAGABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH), Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI)

Keywords

• Humanitarian aid
• Refugee support
• Disaster relief
• Nonprofit fundraising
• Emergency response

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Individual donations through online fundraising campaigns, major gifts program, and general donations. The organization runs specific campaign appeals for emergencies (Ebola, Sudan, Lebanon, Palestine) as well as ongoing programs.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of products including real products for refugees (nutritious meals, children's bundles) and branded merchandise (clothing and accessories) through the Choose Love store.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Choose Love is a humanitarian nonprofit that raises funds through donations, merchandise, and tangible aid product sales (Nutritious Meals, Children's Bundles), then channels those resources through local partner organizations to deliver emergency aid and life-changing support to refugees and displaced communities across 51 countries. The organization runs targeted emergency appeals (Ebola, Sudan, Lebanon, Palestine), community fundraising programs, major gifts, and youth-led initiatives including the Rise Festival and GLORY programme.

Product overview

Help Refugees operates Choose Love as a dual-purpose platform combining e-commerce and fundraising. The organization runs two online stores: a merchandise shop selling clothing and accessories, and the choose.love store offering tangible aid products including Nutritious Meals (£15 providing food for a family for 4 days) and Children's Bundles (£140 providing protection, water, food, shade, and nets). The main platform centers on donation campaigns supporting humanitarian crises including Ebola response, Sudan relief, Lebanon emergency, and Palestine aid. Additional offerings include the Rise Festival, a digital festival led by displaced young people combining art, storytelling, advocacy and technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Choose Love Store (choose.love) E-commerce platform selling real products for refugees facing difficult conditions, including nutritious meals and children's bundles. Operated by Choose Love to channel purchase revenue directly into humanitarian aid.
• Merchandise Shop Online Shopify-based store selling iconic clothing and accessories that supporters can purchase to show their support for refugees. Revenue supports Choose Love's humanitarian work.
• Nutritious Meals Food aid product priced at £15, typically providing food for an entire family for 4 days. Over 16 million meals have been provided in 10 years. Purchases are channeled to refugee and displaced community food security programs.
• Children's Bundle Comprehensive aid package priced at £140 to protect displaced children, including protection from the sun, clean water, food, shade, nets, and other essentials.
• Donation Campaigns Online donation platform supporting multiple emergency and humanitarian campaigns including Ebola Appeal, Sudan crisis (Keep Eyes on Sudan), Lebanon emergency appeal, and Palestine relief (Love Palestine). Processes one-time and recurring donations from individual supporters globally.
• Rise Festival Global two-day digital festival led by displaced young people, bringing together art, storytelling, advocacy, technology, and global solidarity. Created with youth leaders from the GLORY (Global Leadership & Organising by Refugee Youth) programme.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported over 9 million displaced people across 51 countries
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Mercy Corps: A global humanitarian NGO delivering emergency relief, food security, and livelihoods programming in conflict-affected regions. Comparable as a multi-country emergency aid operator with a similar donor-supported revenue model.
• CARE International: A major humanitarian organization focused on fighting global poverty and supporting women and girls in crisis settings, including refugees. Comparable broad incumbent with overlapping emergency-response and refugee programming.
• Save the Children: A large established international NGO providing emergency aid, education, and child protection in conflict and disaster zones. Comparable as a broad humanitarian incumbent serving overlapping beneficiaries and crises, with a much larger institutional footprint.
• UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency): The UN's global refugee agency and the institutional benchmark for refugee support. Comparable because it serves the same displaced-population mission across the same global footprint, though at vastly greater scale and with a mandate-based rather than donation-driven model.
• Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): A leading medical humanitarian organization providing emergency medical care in conflict zones and to displaced populations (including Ebola response in DRC). Comparable emergency-response mandate in overlapping crises.
• Oxfam: A globally recognized confederation tackling poverty and humanitarian crises, with major programs for refugees and displaced people. Particularly relevant as a UK-headquartered peer in the same donor market.

Direct peers

• International Rescue Committee (IRC): A major international humanitarian NGO delivering emergency aid, health, and education support to refugees and displaced people in crisis-affected countries. Closely comparable fundraising-driven, program-delivery model and similar geographic spread.
• Refugees International: A dedicated refugee-focused advocacy and humanitarian organization that raises funds to support displaced populations and drives policy advocacy. Highly comparable mission focus and donation-based revenue model.
• Islamic Relief Worldwide: An international humanitarian NGO providing emergency aid, food security, and refugee support across many of the same crisis regions. Comparable donation-driven model with overlapping operational footprint in countries like Sudan, Lebanon, and Palestine.

Regional players

• British Red Cross: The UK arm of the Red Cross movement, providing emergency aid, refugee support, and family reunification services. Comparable as a UK-based humanitarian organization with overlapping refugee programs and similar donation-driven model.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/chooselove
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/help-refugees-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/chooselove
• TikToktiktok.com/@chooselove.org
• Xx.com/chooselove

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about help refugees